Cardiff City vs Derby County - Anthony Pilkington could return to boost Cardiff against Derby

Posted Tuesday, September 27, 2016 by PA

Cardiff hope to welcome back top scorer Anthony Pilkington at home to Derby.

Pilkington missed the Bluebirds' first win in six matches - the 2-1 victory at Rotherham on Saturday - with a thigh injury suffered against Leeds a week earlier.

Aron Gunnarsson (calf) also missed out at Rotherham, but Stuart O'Keefe is expected to retain his place in midfield after impressing on his return following six weeks out with a broken arm.

Former Aston Villa defender Joe Bennett is again expected to be absent with the calf problem which has prevented him from making his Cardiff debut.

Derby have Johnny Russell back in contention for the trip to the Welsh capital.

The forward has missed the last four matches with a calf injury but he has resumed training and is set to return to the squad on Tuesday night.

James Wilson also has a chance of coming back into the reckoning. The on-loan Manchester United striker has sat out two games with a knock but he too has trained and he will be assessed.

However, Jason Shackell (calf), Craig Forsyth (knee) and George Thorne (leg) all remain sidelined for the Rams as they look for a first win in seven Sky Bet Championship outings.